When We Dream of Autumn
by Hakuhunter
Summary: An uninteresting and ordinary person, Heike never had much interest in anything. Applying to a trainer's school changed that right up, as he is instantly taken in by the school's eccentric residents. As he builds new relationships and mends old ones, his new way of life soon becomes threatened. Is it hopeless, or has Heike finally found something in his life worth fighting for?


**Hey y'all, thanks for checking out this new story of mine. It's been a while since I've even posted anything, but I felt inspired to write this, so here we are.**

 **I don't have too much to say, so I'll let you get reading.**

* * *

" _Sentret, sentret",_ a cute but affirming voice spoke into Heike's ear. Begrudgingly, the boy opened his eyes, letting the early morning light hit them. In front of him, a small, brown Pokemon's gaze met his. Heike blinked a few times before closing his eyes once again.

" _Sentret, sentret,"_ the Pokemon in front of him said again, this time a little more aggressively.

"I know, I know," the boy spoke, his eyes not opening. "Just give me a few more minutes, alright?" Heike turned over in his bed and snuggled back into his blanket.

" _Sentret!"_ the Pokemon was now tugging on his shirt, not giving up his endeavor. After a few seconds of this, the boy eventually gave up.

"Fine, you win. I'll get up," Heike said before rising up to a sitting position. A large yawn escaped his mouth and his eyes adjusted to the light coming in from the window opposite his bed.

Sure, Heike knew he had to get up anyway, but he was hoping to get even just a little more sleep in.

The boy turned to the Pokemon at his side. The sentret stared back at him, giving a bright smile and an even more cheerful cry. Heike couldn't resist and picked the normal type up, sitting him in his lap.

"Today's the day, isn't it, Yip?" Heike asked, more as a reminder to himself than an actual question. He scratched the back of Yip's ears and stroked his tail, which caused the Pokemon to let out an adorable noise in response.

The boy looked out the window at the rolling grass fields that it oversaw, a view he had gotten quite used to from all the time living here. He took a few seconds to admire the view, which was something he had found himself doing every morning.

"We'd better get ready," Heike eventually said, raising his arms above his head in a stretch. Yip was a bit sad when Heike stopped petting him, but he understood that they did need to get going.

"Carpe diem, right?" Heike said to his Pokemon, who replied with a large smile.

" _Sentret!"_

* * *

"Are you anxious?" a voice came from inside the kitchen. Heike took a big sip of his coffee and fully swallowed it before giving his answer.

"No, why would I be?" he called back from the table.

"Oh, I dunno. Isn't it common to be nervous on your first day at a new school?"

"I'm not a kid, Dad," Heike said before taking another sip from his mug.

"Yes, I know," the man said as he grabbed an apple from the fridge. He brushed something off onto his lab coat before continuing, "It's still a big, new experience, though. Doesn't that give you butterflies in your stomach?"

Heike jokingly rolled his eyes and looked over to the corner of the room where Yip was happily chowing down on some leftovers from last night. "If anything, I guess I'm actually a little excited."

The dad packed a few last things into a small lunchbox before heading over to the table. "Excited to meet a bunch of cute girls, I bet," he teased, ruffing up Heike's messy, brown hair even more.

"Wha-No of course not," the boy replied, a little embarrassed. He shook his father's hand off his head before hiding his red face with another sip from his mug.

"I'm just playing with you," the dad reassured before sitting down and placing the lunchbox on the table. "Are you excited _because_ it's a new, big experience?"

"I guess so." Heike lowered his mug and set it down on the table. "I hadn't really wanted to become a Pokemon trainer until recently, but it now feels like something I could really have fun doing."

"It was your trek around Kalos that inspired you, wasn't it?"

Heike simply nodded. For the last three months, Heike had been on a lap around Kalos, traveling the countryside with nothing more than his backpack and wonder in his heart. He initially started it because he was bored, but after meeting so many Pokemon trainers, Heike returned, wanting to try it himself.

"Speaking of Pokemon, that's certainly a diligent one you befriended," the dad said, motioning towards the sentret, who was still chowing down on his food. The sentret briefly looked up at his mention before quickly going back to eating. "He's woken you up at about 7 every morning since you got back."

"Yup, that's Yip for you," Heike said with a smile. "It's something I appreciated when we camped out, but I don't think he quite understands that I don't need to be up that early anymore." Heike looked away from his Pokemon and towards his dad. "Are you going into the lab today?" he asked, pointing to the lab coat he had on.

"Yeah, today there are some kids coming by for a tour, and they wanted one of the Professors to give it. Sycamore's still sick, so it's gotta be me."

"Ah, I see," Heike took another big sip of coffee.

"Oh, also speaking of Pokemon…" the older man said suddenly before leaving the room quickly. Heike was a little confused until his father came back, both of his hands behind his back.

"Here you go," he said, placed two wrapped gifts on the table. Heike took a few seconds to stare at them. He looked back at his father for an explanation.

"What? You didn't think we'd forget your birthday, did you? Turning 17 might not be all that special, but that doesn't mean you don't get gifts."

"But…that was two months ago, and I was away from home when it happened."

"So? Even if we couldn't have a party, we still wanted to give you something."

Heike examined the two gifts in front of him. One was small and rectangular, while the other was a pouch that had been wrapped up.  
"Go ahead," the father said, gesturing towards the presents. Heike decided he would open up the small one first. After tearing up the wrapping and opening the box inside, the boy pulled out a red, electronic device. He stared at it in wonder.

"This is…"

"Your very own Pokedex," the father finished, sitting back down and taking a sip from his own mug of coffee. "When you first told me you wanted to be a Pokemon trainer, I made sure to order one for you."

"But, aren't these really expensive?" Heike asked, examining it up and down.

"Eh, kinda, but being a Pokemon professor sure helps get the price down," the dad replied with a grin. Heike turned the present over a few times in his hands before setting it down on the table. Yip had finished his meal, and so, the Pokemon jumped onto the table to examined the red device just as Heike had.

Taking the second present in his hands, Heike shook it a bit. There was a lot of something in the bag, whatever it was. Quickly looking at the tag, Heike was quite surprised.

"This is from Mom?" Heike asked, not quite believing it.

"Yup. When I told her that I planned on giving you a Pokedex, she sent over this as a gift."

Wanting to know what it would be, Heike ripped open the wrapping. He untied the knot at the top of the cloth bag and peered inside.

"These are…Ultra balls? Ten of them?" Heike took one out to examine it. It was in it's smaller form right now, although he knew with a press of a button they could become a lot larger.

"She decided that the best thing she could give an upcoming trainer would be some of the best Pokeballs around. There should be something else in there, too."

Curious, Heike looked back into the bag and pulled out a postcard he had missed before. As he held it in his hands, Yip jumped onto Heike's head to also get a look at it.

On one side was a picture of his mother with a variety of six Pokemon behind her. She had on a big smile while holding up her badge case, containing 6 out of the 8 badges. Flipping it over, Heike read the message on the back

 _Still enjoying the tropical sunshine of Hoenn, but that doesn't mean I don't miss you. Good luck on being a trainer, and let's have a battle someday! Best wishes from your beloved mother._

Heike couldn't help but smile at both the picture and the message. He put the postcard on the table and checked his watch.  
"I'd better head out; I don't want to be late on my first day," Heike said, grabbing his backpack from the chair and hoisting it up onto the table. He started to stuff the new things he got into it. Yip changed positions to Heike's shoulder and stared at every item he grabbed with wide eyes.

"Here's your lunch for today," the professor said as he handed his son the lunchbox.

"Thanks for both the lunch and the gifts," Heike said before stuffing the lunchbox in with the rest. "I think that's everything, so I'll be off," he said as he ran over to the front door and opened it.

"Go get em, son!" The dad said, "And try not to woo that many girls on the first day, alright?"

Heike's only reply was the slam of the door, which made the man laugh. His job as a dad was done.

* * *

Heike felt the wind on his skin as he rode his bike down the dirt road that led to his new school. As he sped up and down hills and around bends, the speed that he was going at only served to enhance the feelings he already had.

Heike had made sure to memorize the route to school in his few free days since getting back so there would be no mishaps. After all, it would be kinda dumb to be late on his first day.

Yip was on his head again, enjoying the breeze in his fur. The Sentret's large tail fluttered behind him and his mouth was open wide.

" _Sent…"_ the Pokemon called out, which made Heike smile.

"Are you enjoying it up there?" he asked. Yip's reply was only a squeak, so Heike took that as a yes.

After making sure nothing was coming down the road, Heike took a brief look at his watch. He still had plenty of time, and the school wasn't far away now. He re-applied his vision to the road and raced down the path with more vigor than before.

The fact that the school wasn't far from his house was something that Heike knew he would appreciate in the coming months. It would be a different story if he lived in Lumiose city, but his parents decided to settle down a little bit outside of it. His mother didn't like big cities (something Heike inherited) but his father still needed to be able to drive into the city for work, so they compromised.

It was a quaint house out in the hills, but Heike still enjoyed it, especially the view of the Kalos countryside.

Although "quaint" and "out in the hills" are words that Heike could also use to describe the school he was going to. He honestly didn't even know it had existed up until a few days ago, and he had spent a lot of his early life around here. Still, it was one of the only schools around, and he wouldn't know what it was like till he tried it, right?

As he passed a bridge, Heike decided to slow down a bit. He had visited this bridge all the time when he was younger. He remembered playing down in the river and under the bridge with his friends. He rarely even came out to it anymore, so a wave of nostalgia washed over him as he crossed over.

Currently, there was one kid on the riverbank. He was a little ways upstream, admiring the red and white Pokeball in his hands with a big smile. He looked pretty young, so Heike assumed he was only about ten. A new trainer perhaps? A smile of his own formed on Heike's face.

The smile was quickly dashed as the young boy's Pokeball slipped from his grasp and fell down into the river. A look of distress quickly replaced the happy ones that both boys had on before.

Slamming on his breaks, Heike's bike came to a screeching halt, almost throwing the surprised Yip off in the process. Tossing the vehicle aside and throwing his backpack onto the ground, Heike ran down to the riverbank and rushed to where the Pokeball was being dragged. The other boy was also chasing the ball, but was having a hard time keeping his footing on the loose dirt next to the river.

This was it, Heike thought. This was his time to shine. The Pokeball was almost to the bridge by the time he ran all the way down to the river. He only had one shot at this. If he missed, the ball would continue down the river, and who knows where it would end up then.

Bracing himself, Heike timed exactly when the Pokeball would get over to him and waited for his move.

' _Right…about…'_

"Now!" a random, feminine voice erupted from the other side of the river. Heike only got the briefest of glances at the person before a large splash came up from the river. Yip jumped off Heike's shoulder as water sprayed the boy's body. Heike hid his face from the gush and waited until all the water was gone before he opened his eyes.

Before the river had even settled, the girl came out of the water and onto Heike's side of the bridge. She stood up slowly, the boy's Pokeball in her hand.

"Got it," she proclaimed, a smile on her face.

"Oh, thank you so much, Miss," The young boy said. He had just now gotten over to where the two of them were. "I'm really glad you caught that."

"Don't worry about it," the girl said, passing the boy his ball, which he took happily. "So what kind of Pokemon you got in there?"

"Oh, I don't have one yet; this is empty," the boy said casually, opening it to show that it was, in fact, completely empty.

"..."

A mild breeze drifted through the area as everyone was silent. The girl's face turned from a bright one to one devoid of any emotion. She blinked a few times before breaking the silence.

"It's…empty…" she repeated quietly to herself.

"Yup, I'm getting a Pokemon tomorrow, but I already got a Pokeball so I could catch one myself soon."

"I…see…" the girl said slowly, her face still dreadfully bland.

"Ah, I should get going. Thanks again, Miss!" the boy said before running off in the direction of the bridge.

"Uh…yeah…" was all the girl got out, but by that time, the boy was already gone.

A few seconds of silence ensued between the girl and Heike, who had just watched everything unfold up till this point. The girl finally looked over to him, and her eyes widened.

"Oh, hey, I didn't see you there." She said, shaking some of the water off her clothes. "I guess I kinda stole that glory from you, didn't I?" the girl continued with a slightly guilty look on her face. "I just jumped in without thinking."

"Oh, no, it's fine," Heike assured her. Yip had reclaimed his position on Heike's shoulder as they were talking. "I was just glad that someone got it."

That's what Heike said, but in reality he really did feel bad that he didn't get to be the hero.

"Not that it really counted for anything, considering it was just an empty Pokeball I saved," the girl said with a pout.

The girl was about Heike's age, from what he could tell, but maybe a little younger. She had two black pigtails that extended a little ways from her head, held in place by red hair bands. Her casual jeans and t-shirt that she had on were full of river water. Her clothes dripped onto the rocks at her feet.

The girl looked down at herself with disappointment. "Man, now my clothes are completely soaked, so that means I've got to go home and change." She said, almost as if she didn't expect that to happen when she had just jumped into a river. The girl let out a sigh. "But I don't have enough time to make it home and…" the girl trailed off as her gaze went past Heike and towards the bridge. "Hey, is that your bike?" she pointed.

Surprised, Heike looked back at it himself. "Y-yes, it is. Why?"

"Do you mind if I borrow it for a bit? You'd be a life saver!" the girl said. She quickly closed the gap between them, startling Heike. She clasped her hands together and put on a large grin. "Please?"

Heike thought about it for a second. The school wasn't that far away now, and he did build in some extra time just in case something weird like this happened.

"I guess I don't min-"

"Thanks a bunch. I'll bring it back to you later today, alright?"

"Hey, wait a sec!" Heike called out to her, but it was too late. The girl had gotten to his bike and propped it up with unprecedented speed. By the time he got back to the road himself, the girl had already started to ride off.

"How do I even know where to get the bike back from?" Heike asked himself as he watched the girl ride off into the distance, hoping that she didn't just steal it from him.

"What a weird girl," he added as a comment to himself before picking his backpack off the ground and heading down the road, now with one less bike in his possession.

* * *

" _Pokemon School of Auburn Leaves!"_ the large, bold letters read at the top of the arch. Heike had to bend his neck in order to read them since the arch was so high up.

Looking around, Heike saw a few other people walk past him, but none of them he recognized. This was a whole new school, after all.

Heike checked his watch one more time as he passed under the arch and officially entered the school himself. He cut it a bit closer than he would have liked, but he still made it with a little time to spare.

Spread out in front of him was the entire school ground. A decent size building was to Heike's right, which he assumed to be where the classrooms were. A few practice battlefields were painted out in the ground in front of him, and towards the back, Heike could see what looked to be storerooms and maybe even a pool.

It wasn't a lot, but it was about what Heike was expecting for a school of this size.

As he wondered where he was supposed to go first, Heike spotted a woman who was notably older than all of the other people he had seen here. She was leaning against a wall when she looked up and spotted him.

"Hey, there," she called out, catching the boy a little off guard. "I don't recognize you. Are you Heike Hemlock?"

"Yeah, that's me," he replied.

"Ah, good, you made it," she said, clearly relieved. The woman pushed herself off the wall and approached Heike. "I was afraid you'd be late on your first day."

"Sorry, it's just that something…came up," Heike said briefly.

"Well, you're here now, so that's what matters," the woman said as she grabbed Heike's shoulder. Her grip was much stronger than he expected. "Allow me to be the first one to welcome you to our little school," she released her hand from Heike's should and pointed to herself with her thumb. "I'm Mona, the teacher here. Glad to finally meet you, Heike."

"Y-yeah…" Heike replied, a bit thrown off by how informal she was being. "Wait…'teacher'? As in you're the only one?"

"Yup. This isn't that big of a school, as I'm sure you know, so I get away with being the only teacher. I do have some of my students help out from time to time, though."

"Are there no other teachers willing to work here?"

"Oh, sure there are, but I decide who can teach here and who can't, and I like teaching alone. One of the perks of owning the school," Mona ended that last part with a wink. "Anyway, I've got someone waiting for you in my office to give you a tour; we can continue talking on the way."

"Sure," Heike agreed.

"So are you related to Ross Hemlock, by any chance?" Mona asked as they started walking. Heike nodded in response.

"He's my dad," he replied.

"Wow, having a Pokemon Professor for a dad," Mona laughed. "I'm sure you know a ton of stuff about Pokemon already then, right?"

"Well, I've learned a few things from him." Heike replied. "Although I've never been interested in Pokemon until recently."

"Well, with any luck, you'll leave here having learned a few things, right?" Mona said and laughed again. This time Heike couldn't help but laugh with her.

As they opened the glass doors and entered into the school building, Heike took this time to examine the teacher a little closer. Her clothes were not what you would expect a teacher to be wearing; well, not a Pokemon teacher, at least. Her white shirt and black shorts were stained with paint, most of the colors matching her bright orange hair. The paint was on her skin, too, so he assumed it all got there pretty recently.

There was a flight of stairs near the entrance that they climbed before Heike spoke up again.

"So…do you like to paint?" Heike said as a conversation starter. Mona briefly looked down at her clothes.

"Yeah, painting is one of my biggest hobbies. I'd put it just under Pokemon battles in terms of things that I love to do." Mona pulled on her clothes and examined them a bit. "Even I'm not usually this messy, though. It's just that this morning's sunset was one of the best I've seen all year, so I just had to paint it. I haven't had the chance to go home since then. I'm usually more professionally dressed than this, I promise."

"Oh I'm not judging you," Heike reassured her. "You're just a lot different from my grade school teachers, that's all."

"Yeah, if only I had a coin for every time I heard that," Mona said with a big smile.

After walking a bit more, they stopped in front of a room at the end of the hall. A plaque reading _'Teacher's office'_ was nailed onto the door.

"Well, here we are," Mona announced. Opening the door, the two of the walked in.

The room was pretty cozy looking, at least what he would have expected a teacher's office to look like.

"Huh, that's strange," Mona said to herself. "I told her to be here by now. Where is she?"

"What's wrong?" Heike asked. Mona put a hand on her hair and shook her head.

"The person I asked to give you a tour of the school isn't here yet, so go ahead and make yourself at home."

Accepting her offer, Heike sat down in a chair stationed next to the wall. Yip hopped off Heike's shoulder and curled up onto the chair next to his.

Examining the room further, the first thing to catch Heike's eye was an easel with a painting on it. It stood right next to a large window that extended all the way to the ceiling and overlooked the battlefields below. The art itself was of the sunrise that Mona had talked about earlier. Many other paintings hung around the room, most of them being of nature, but a few being portraits, and one even being an abstract piece of only squares. At least, Heike was pretty sure that's what it was.

A messy desk stood near the back of the room, right next the window and the easel. A lone computer sat on the back of the desk, but beyond that Heike couldn't tell what else was even on it. The only other things of note were some filing cabinets speckled throughout the room and a full bookshelf right next to the door.

"So, is that your partner?" Mona asked, making Heike's focus shift to her. She was pointing to the normal type next to him.

"Yeah, his name's Yip. He's the only Pokemon I own, so I hope that's okay."

"That's just fine. Most people here only have one or two Pokemon anyway." Mona reacher her hand out to Yip. "May I?"

"Go ahead," Heike said, giving her permission. Mona started scratching Yip's ears, earning the sentrets approval in the form of squeaks.

"How long have you had him for?" Mona asked as she petted Yip. Heike took a second to think about it.

"I think it's been about a month and a half since we first met. It certainly doesn't feel like it's been that long, though."

"I know that feeling," Mona concurred as she retracted her hand from the Pokemon. Mona took a brief look around the room. "I really need to tidy this place up, don't I?" She said, just now figuring that out herself. She went over to her cluttered desk and started the process of cleaning it.

"I'm sorry about all this," she apologized after some time of Heike just watching her throw stuff away and cram other things into drawers. "First my clothes and office being a mess, and now having to make you wait. This really isn't a good first impression, is it?"

"What? Oh, no, it's fine, really. I don't mind," Heike said, shaking his hands as a gesture. "Besides, I'd much rather have my new school be too laid back than too strict."

Although Heike had to admit that this was not the initial school experience that he was expecting.

"Well, if that's true, then I just know you'll fit right in here," Mona said, her smile restored.

A set of loud, fast footsteps made all three occupants of the room look to the door. A figure ran around the corner and entered the room, leaning up onto the door frame with one hand.  
"S-sorry I'm late, Sensei," the girl said as she caught her breath.

"Kali, where were you. I told you to be here ten minutes ago," Mona said as she rounded her desk and approached the black haired girl.

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just that I-WHOA! Why the heck are you here?!" Kali cut her initial sentence short when she saw the boy sitting in the corner of the room.

"Hang on, you're…" Heike got to his feet as he recognized this girl in front of him.

"Oh, Kali, this is our new student," Mona motioned over to Heike. "Kali, meet Heike. Heike this is Kali," she did introductions. "Do…you guys already know each other," she asked when she saw both of them pointing at each other.

"Not really," Heike spoke up. "We just met earlier today. Quite the coincidence, though."

"You're telling me," Kali agreed. "But really, Sensei, I'm sorry about being late," the girl quickly forgot about Heike and turned back to the teacher. "See, I was-"

 _DING_

 _DONG_

The loud school bells rang throughout the school, making Yip jump behind Heike out of instinct.

"You can tell me later," Mona said hastily. "I've got to get to class, and you've got a tour to give, remember?"

"Right, yeah I know," Kali responded enthusiastically. "I'll do my best!"

"I know you will," Mona replied, patting the girl's head in between her pigtails. "If you need anything don't be afraid to call me. Questions or problems of new students have priority, alright?" After saying this, she walked past the girl and out of the room.

"Got it!" Kali said with a pompous salute as she watched the teacher go out of sight and down the hall. Once she was gone, Kali brought her hand down and spun around towards Heike.

"I suppose proper introductions are in order," Kali said. The girl lowered herself with a dramatic bow. "Nice to meet you. My name's Kali, and thank you for lending me your bike."

Heike didn't know what to make of this girl. First jumping into the river and now being super over the top about everything, it was safe to say that this was no ordinary school girl.

"Um…I'm Heike," he returned the introduction. "this is Yip…" he pointed to the sentret that had climbed back onto his shoulder, "...and it's no problem." He didn't understand why they were introducing themselves again. Mona had just done it, right? "Where…is my bike, by the way?"

"Oh, it's just outside the school," Kali said as she straightened up, "It works great and I loved how it felt when I rode it. Could I ride it again some other time? Please?"

Heike simply sighed. What was with this girl?

"Sure…I guess…"

"Oh, but nevermind that, I'm supposed to give you a tour, right?" Kali said, moving from one topic to the another. "So let's get going. Follow me!" she declared, whipping around again and heading straight out the door. Not wanting to be left behind, Heike hurried after her.

" _Sentret…"_ Yip commented from his perch on Heike's shoulder.

"Me too, bud," Heike, 'replied', leaving the room and running down the hall after Kali.

* * *

 **Thanks for reading. Reviews are always appreciated, and I'll have the next chapter out when I can.**


End file.
